Chris Pye is an internationally acclaimed carver and carving teacher (see below for a selection of his books) who likes smoothing his carvings with carving tools. "Finishing from the tools gives me a level, subtlety and individuality of expression that is not available to me when I sand," he writes. Because he wanted a very flat gouge, flatter than a modern No. 3, but still with a slight curve - he approached Barry Iles of the Ashley Iles factory to make him a custom tool. The No. 2 1/2 finishing gouges that resulted from this request are now available to all carvers, who will appreciate the tool’s special features: the thinness of its blade, flatness of sweep and inner bevel. The inner bevel in particular enhances the utility of the tool, since you can use the gouge both normally and upside down. Pye says that he was "very pleased with the way that Barry worked to get exactly what I wanted," resulting in a set of tools that "are just the job for slicing cuts, inside bevels and finishing from the edge." (All quotes from Wood Carving Magazine, Nov/Dec 2002.)